Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Mar 29, 2019 9:06 pm Purchased 3/4 acres from QM Properties in a new estate (Hammond Crossing) Caboolture and today ... we settled! As of 2pm this afternoon 29th March we officially own our block. House plans are finalised and approved now over to the builders (Hallmark Homes) to break ground in two weeks time. We went out to the land this afternoon with a measuring tape and started visualising the house which was a lot of fun. We are going back tomorrow with some paint and will draw out the rooms! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Build Feed: Hallmark Homes - Vouge 298 - Caboolture QLD 4Apr 15, 2019 5:49 pm Look forward to following your build, your plan looks great. We’ve just purchased 5600sqm block in north west Sydney, still in planning phase, love following acreage builds Re: Build Feed: Hallmark Homes - Vouge 298 - Caboolture QLD 5Apr 15, 2019 5:55 pm gogo65 Look forward to following your build, your plan looks great. We’ve just purchased 5600sqm block in north west Sydney, still in planning phase, love following acreage builds Thanks gogo65 look forward to posting updates! Re: Build Feed: Hallmark Homes - Vouge 298 - Caboolture QLD 7Apr 17, 2019 11:34 pm Hello neighbor! I own Lot 11 across the road from you We settled on 20/2/19 Very excited to see your house build start and we assumed it was going to be an acreage design based on how wide the initial scrape was. This gave us some relief knowing it wasn't going to be a 150 sqm shoe box! I really love the design you've gone with and we were originally looking at something very similar but decided to go with a more traditional layout. We were wondering about how close the Taylex tank is to the house? When it got installed pre scrape it looked super duper close! Also, did QM provide you with the compaction certificate and other soil testing done pre and post development to help your builder and hopefully assist with keeping slab costs down? I believe your side of the road is close to natural ground from the Jurassic period (no joke). If so, did your builder accept them and design accordingly? While on the topic of soil and slabs, what was your soil classed? Did your builder ask for extra costs on top of standard inclusion? Sorry for all the questions just excited someone lives so close to me and I can follow their journey! We're building with Stylemaster and will have a granny flat at the back that matches our facade. My parents house is under contract so when that goes through, you might see some progress on the other side of the road Good luck with the build and I might meet you sometime when I'm checking out everyone's progress! Re: Build Feed: Hallmark Homes - Vouge 298 - Caboolture QLD 8Apr 18, 2019 8:32 am Hi Chase, This is awesome (insert happy face) finally we have been able to connect with someone else from the estate “neighbors.” We asked QM if they could provide us with the details of the owners of Lots eight and ten so we can discuss fencing arrangements; however, they said they were unwilling to do that. We are very happy to have commenced building. We were super excited to have finally broken ground. My wife and I are hoping to be in the house before my fourth child is due in August (fingers crossed). We grew out of our old house and needed something bigger for my expanding family. This house is three times bigger than the narrow allotment house that we were living in at Everton Park. The family (Me, my Wife, 5.5-year-old daughter, 2.5-year-old daughter, 1-year-old son) made the move to Caboolture on Australia Day and are renting a small unit around the corner from the block. This is super handy so that we can keep an eye on progress. We attempt to visit the site daily (usually about 4pm) after I get home from work so if you are around, drop over and say hi, it would be great to meet you before we move in. Our taylex tank is 3m from the back of the house, so it is close but not having used a HSPT before I don’t know what to expect. The first sprinkler is 10m from the tank and spans 20m to the end of the last sprinkler spray area. Hallmark have been nothing but fantastic. I would recommend them. Cass, our sales consultant from Mango Hill/North Lakes office, is amazing and was able to modify the design to suit our needs. And best of all, they have fixed price contracts. QM, on the other hand, have been painful to deal with; we asked for some clarification on details contained within the covenant (about fencing and driveways) and they (QM) cannot seem to give me straight answers instead they keep referring me back to the vague covenant document. As far as I am aware they have not provided any soil details and we have had our own soil testing done through the builder. Taylex also did a soil test with a “light clay range” result which I can see now looking at the soil that was dug out of the hole for the treatment plant and the independent site classification returned a site classification of P (as written in the report) due to the presence of topsoil fill material requiring a footing system design equivalent to H1: Highly Reactive. I don’t quite understand all that jargon but all good. We paid for the upgraded slab at contract stage and were informed that should the soil test return a different result, and we did not require the upgraded slab/footings then they would refund us the difference (however due to soil test we do require the upgraded slab) but as the contract was fixed price they could not ask for any more money which is something I didn’t like about the other builders. I have heard horrible things about Coral Homes (when looking for builders I joined a Coral facebook group which confirmed our decision to not even consider them). I feel sorry for the people building on lot ten as it looks as if they have chosen Coral. Have your plans progressed through council yet? Our plans took five weeks and were approved without any concerns. We have been assigned house number is 32 Halcot. Chat with you soon. Nato. Re: Build Feed: Hallmark Homes - Vouge 298 - Caboolture QLD 9Apr 18, 2019 6:24 pm Build Day 4: Under Footings Today the under footings were laid. I was extremely disappointed with the labourers from QST Group who have been subcontracted by Hallmark to complete the job as they recklessly littered our site leaving drink containers and smoke packets around the site. My wife even collected a work order receipt for our site from the pile of trash. Putting that aside we now have under footings. Hopefully further progress will be made on Tuesday. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Build Feed: Hallmark Homes - Vouge 298 - Caboolture QLD 10Apr 29, 2019 7:16 pm Build Day: 15 Today we had a digger on site digging trenches for our electrical and water piping. Our meter box was attached, a pile of roadbase, a quantity of foam blocks and some unknown plastic black mouldings were delivered. Can anyone tell me what the foam blocks and the black plastic mouldings are used for? ... sorry this is the first house we have built! My wife took photos at 9:30am and again at 3:00pm, finally we have some progress! The benefits of living so close to the build. As long as the weather holds out we may have a slab by the end of the week. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Build Feed: Hallmark Homes - Vouge 298 - Caboolture QLD 11Apr 29, 2019 10:11 pm G'day Nato We passed your wife today at around 3pm. Gave her a wave lol. Must of been the white Hyundai SUV? Hopefully you get a slab this week! If the rain holds off you could have a slab party QM won't give out the other owners information due to privacy. I guess you have 2 options for fencing so far: build whatever fence that fits in the covenant and when the new owner is finished building their house, you can ask for half the cost (unlikely to work) or you can just wait until you meet the other owners to discuss what they also would be happy with and then both pay someone separately to get it done. This is our 2nd property from QM. We own a house just up the road at Central Lakes. You're lucky to be so close for your first build. My wife and I didn't have that luxury for our current house as we were living with my parents 45 minutes away at Ocean View. My advice is to keep going to the block every single day and take lots of pictures. Check each days work against your plans and specifications. Don't sign off on progress payments until you're satisfied they are correct to the best of your knowledge. Our builder installed our kitchen window behind the sink near the roof line when it was meant to be flush height with the kitchen bench. This is an example of what to look for every day and bring it up with the builder immediately. Don't email. Call them. THEN email if you have a disagreement so to keep evidence to refer back to. Also, if the builder will allow, ask to be present when any certifications are done. Like the Moreton Bay Council to certify your slab and they will put a sticker on the pipes to make sure they have the correct seals etc. The reason I say this is so they actually get out of the car and don't just ask a tradie "hey mate did you do it properly? yeah ok cya then here is some stickers" We so far haven't had problems with ours and we didn't do this, but for our next build we will. I have a son who just turned 3, so no doubt the kids will find each other eventually It's disappointing the concrete guys left trash, but also not very surprised at it. Once your slab is down the builder will probably get a skip bin delivered for builders waste and it will go in that hopefully. My wife and I regularly swept up after the trades on some days just to help out. The foam blocks are used in your "waffle slab". I am guessing the black plastic moldings could be used to help space them or hold them down? I'm unsure of those. Having a waffle slab is probably a decent idea for a highly reactive clay site. You must both be so keen to have such a bigger house! I agree about Coral. It's a bit of lottery to get good trades working on your house with whoever you choose to build with. Most builders for a specific area will have an "A" and "B" team at minimum. We didn't even look at Coral because we figured they must have at least 100 houses on the books right now just in our region and it would mean they probably get rushed to finish things. I don't think your neighbor will start for a long time. We had our soil testing done today so hopefully will get a preliminary house plan soon as well. Might even make a house build thread but it will be slower going for us due to building 2 houses at the same time. I'm a bit surprised the corner blocks haven't started building yet, as we spoke to a builder who organised their soil testing. They said they think the people are in over their heads. Apparently having trouble getting finance for what they want to build. I believe the corner block on the south side of the dead end is going to have a granny flat. They might be in the same boat as me though and having to wait for someone else to sell etc. Good luck with the slab and I'll keep an eye on it for ya Chase Re: Build Feed: Hallmark Homes - Vouge 298 - Caboolture QLD 12May 07, 2019 8:29 pm Nice to meet Chase L , his Wife and Son on our site today. I am sorry but I have forgotten their names.
Our kids had so much fun running around together and playing in the loo. Tomorrow is going to be an exciting day as I think we will be getting our slab. All the formwork went up today after being held up because of wet weather but everything has dried up and is looking good for the big pour. Re: Build Feed: Hallmark Homes - Vouge 298 - Caboolture QLD 15May 09, 2019 4:21 pm We officially have a slab!
Today the slab for the castle was FINALLY laid. The concreters were on site all day; from about 7:30am. I left site about 3:30pm and there was still lots happening. There has been anywhere from 6-9 guys working hard on the slab all day. About 9 trucks of concrete were pumped into forming the slab which was amazing to see. I today delegated mysel the role of the unofficial pour supervisor. I sat outside the site for a considerable amount of time in my deckchair, KFC in hand watching the site operations. I am amazed at how meticulous they were to ensure everything was done correctly and to a high standard. I think the fact I was around may had something to do with it. This afternoon our rubbish cage and some framing timber was delivered to site. It will be interested to see what happens next. But now to organise a slab party! I can thank our new friendly neighbours chase_l for that idea! 🥳 🎈 🎉 🍷 🍻 Re: Build Feed: Hallmark Homes - Vouge 298 - Caboolture QLD 16May 09, 2019 7:14 pm Photos from today's activity on Lot 9 Hammond Crossing. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ First Section: Children's Bedrooms, Bathroom, Toilet and Laundry. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Second Section: Dining, Lounge, Kitchen, Entry and first half of the Media Room. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Levelling and redistributing the concrete to ensure that the pour is even. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Third Section: Master Bedroom, En-suite, Walk-in-robe, Garage and second half of the Media. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Smoothing the top surface. **The guy in the orange shirt hand edged the whole block himself. What a mammoth task! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Side View of the slab. That is going to be one HUGE house. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Delivery on site. I think it was timber for framing? Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Final touches and hand levelling of the front patio area. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Our completed slab. Thank you to all the tradies who worked very hard today to complete the slab. Well Done! Re: Build Feed: Hallmark Homes - Vouge 298 - Caboolture QLD 19May 15, 2019 11:22 am Day 30 and we have framing up. I am amazed considering the weather has been fairly wet. It has been fun visiting the site and being able to show the kids where each of the rooms are. Re: Build Feed: Hallmark Homes - Vouge 298 - Caboolture QLD 20May 15, 2019 11:46 am Fantastic Build Thread! I will be following this for sure. Congrats! Well done! and Thanks! for posting. Hi all. Anyone know when the $11,000 limit was set in legislation for renovations in QLD? Ive been renovating for 5 years now and this was the limit back then. As we know,… 0 4405 Hi, I contracted a Builder to do a Garage to Bedroom + ensuite conversion (Class 1a), the Builder engaged the Certifier and Engineer and received BDA from the Certifier… 0 5195 We used a smaller qld builder who went bankrupt about 12 months after completion of ours. It was a shame as they were good and relatively cheap and I would have used… 3 5112 |